After the TLS gathering in Indiana recently, I was really excited to make the labyrinth a daily part of my life. I don’t have easy access to a walking labyrinth, but I have a wooden lap labyrinth that I purchased in 1999. First I had to find it, then I had to clean it as thoroughly as possible. On inspection, I found a crack forming on one side and the finish didn’t have the same smooth feel I once remembered. There was a certain amount of apprehension on my part to sit with it and actually run my fingers along its roughened path. Once I began my ‘new’ journey, tears started to well up. I was coming home and once again leaving home all at the same time.

My beautiful labyrinth and I survived a devastating house fire three years ago. Most of my possessions were lost, but a few remained by some miracle and my labyrinth made it, not unscathed, but functional and dare I say with more meaning and power.

When I look at this beautiful tool of journey, I can’t help but think of the path it has represented in my life. It has been pristine in its origin, a tool of reflection, meditative prayer, decoration, healing and enlightenment through the years. My labyrinth feels like an ancient Grandmother. It has stood the path of life and remains with me not only as a representation of the past, but also as a doorway to the future. It has the scars upon its face, but it’s beauty and function have increased and best of all, the heart of its message remains steadfast, filled with hope and alive to what lies ahead and for this I am deeply grateful.

The month of November is an easy time to remember gratitude as our month of thanks is celebrated with our festival of appreciation on the fourth Thursday of the month in tradition. It can easily be the best holiday of the year because it demands little and gives us much in remembering the value of gratitude.

When we walk the labyrinth this month, we have the opportunity to appreciate each day a little more if we remember what is vital, what is happening and what has occurred during this interval of time. Just asking what am I grateful for, how am I grateful and who might be grateful for me can move the mountains of heart in the world, especially touching the magnitude of our own being.

Feel the change of the seasons and the change in your countenance this month by enveloping a week of thanks, then a week of appreciation, follow with a week of gratitude and finally a week of great fullness for all.